Uninterruptible power supply component analysis system and method

ABSTRACT

According to certain aspects of the disclosure, an uninterruptible power supply is provided comprising an input, a backup power supply, an output configured to provide output power from the input and/or the backup power supply, a sensor, a relay, and a controller coupled to the sensor and the relay and being configured to determine, based on stored relay specifications, a manufacturer total estimated relay lifetime, receive operational information indicative of operational parameters of operation of the relay from the sensor, the operational information including a current conducted by the relay, determine, based on the operational information, an effective number of relay cycles consumed by the operation of the relay, determine a modified number of remaining relay cycles based on a difference between the manufacturer total estimated lifetime and the effective number of relay cycles consumed, and output remaining relay lifetime information indicative of the modified number of remaining relay cycles.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.17/161,073 (now U.S. Pat. No. 11,362,538), titled “UNINTERRUPTIBLE POWERSUPPLY COMPONENT ANALYSIS SYSTEM AND METHOD,” filed on Jan. 28, 2021,which claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 to Indian Patent ApplicationSerial No. 202011004304, titled “UNINTERRUPTIBLE POWER SUPPLY COMPONENTANALYSIS SYSTEM AND METHOD,” filed on Jan. 31, 2020, both of which arehereby incorporated herein by reference in their entirety for allpurposes.

BACKGROUND 1. Field of the Disclosure

At least one example in accordance with the present disclosure relatesgenerally to uninterruptible power supplies.

2. Discussion of Related Art

The use of power devices, such as uninterruptible power supplies (UPSs),to provide regulated, uninterrupted power for sensitive and/or criticalloads, such as computer systems and other data processing systems, isknown. Known UPSs include online UPSs, offline UPSs, line-interactiveUPSs, as well as others. Online UPSs provide conditioned AC power aswell as back-up AC power upon interruption of a primary source of ACpower. Offline UPSs typically do not provide conditioning of input ACpower, but do provide back-up AC power upon interruption of the primaryAC power source.

SUMMARY

According to at least one aspect of the present disclosure, anuninterruptible power supply comprising an input configured to receiveinput power, a backup power supply configured to output backup power, anoutput configured to be coupled to at least one load, and configured toprovide output power from at least one of the input or the backup powersupply to the at least one load, at least one sensor, at least onerelay, and a controller coupled to the at least one sensor and to the atleast one relay, the controller being configured to determine, based onstored relay specifications, a manufacturer total estimated relaylifetime, receive operational information indicative of operationalparameters of operation of the at least one relay from the at least onesensor, the operational information including a current conducted by theat least one relay, determine, based on the operational information, aneffective number of relay cycles consumed by the operation of the atleast one relay, determine a modified number of remaining relay cycles,the modified number of remaining relay cycles being based on adifference between the manufacturer total estimated lifetime and theeffective number of relay cycles consumed, and output remaining relaylifetime information indicative of the modified number of remainingrelay cycles.

In some examples, the uninterruptible power supply further comprises adisplay, wherein the controller is configured to display the remainingrelay lifetime information on the display. In various examples, theoperational parameters include at least one of electrical parameters orenvironmental parameters. In at least one example, the uninterruptiblepower supply further comprises a communications interface configured tobe communicatively coupled to at least one server, wherein thecontroller is further configured to provide component informationindicative of the at least one relay to the at least one server via thecommunications interface. In some examples, the component informationincludes at least one of the remaining relay lifetime information, theoperational information, or the stored relay specifications.

In various examples, in determining the manufacturer total estimatedrelay lifetime, the controller is further configured to retrievemanufacturer-supplied information indicative of an estimated totallifetime of the at least one relay at a test relay load current and atest relay temperature, and determine, based on themanufacturer-supplied information, an initial remaining lifetime of theat least one relay. In at least one example, the controller is furtherconfigured to identify a load type of a load of the at least one relayresponsive to identifying a switching event of the at least one relay,wherein the load type includes at least one of a resistive load type, acapacitive load type, or an inductive load type, and wherein theswitching event includes at least one of the at least one relayswitching from a conducting state to a non-conducting state or from anon-conducting state to a conducting state.

In some examples, identifying the load type includes acquiringelectrical parameter samples including at least one of a plurality ofcurrent samples or a plurality of voltage samples of the at least onerelay, and determining the load type based on one or more of identifyinga pattern match between the electrical parameter samples and a referencepattern corresponding to a known load type, determining that theelectrical parameter samples are stable within a threshold range ofvalues, or determining a phase difference between the plurality ofvoltage samples and the plurality of current samples. In variousexamples, the controller is further configured to receive, from the atleast one sensor, at least one current sample indicative of a currentthrough the at least one relay, and receive, from the at least onesensor, at least one temperature sample indicative of a temperature ofthe at least one relay.

In at least one example, the controller is further configured todetermine a current stress factor of the at least one relay based on adifference between the at least one current sample indicative of thecurrent through the at least one relay and the test relay load current,and determine a temperature stress factor of the at least one relaybased on a difference between the at least one temperature sampleindicative of the temperature of the at least one relay and the testrelay temperature. In various examples, the controller is furtherconfigured to determine a degradation rate of the at least one relaybased on the current stress factor and the temperature stress factor. Insome examples, the controller is further configured to determine, basedon the degradation rate, an effective number of switching cyclesconsumed by the switching event, and determine, based on a differencebetween the estimated total lifetime and the effective number ofswitching cycles consumed by the switching event, the remaining lifetimeof the at least one relay.

According to at least one aspect, a component analysis system isprovided comprising at least one computing device communicativelycoupled to a plurality of uninterruptible power supplies, the pluralityof uninterruptible power supplies including a plurality of relays, theat least one computing device being configured to receive a respectivemanufacturer total estimated relay lifetime for each relay of theplurality of relays, receive respective operational informationindicative of operational parameters of operation of each relay of theplurality of relays, determine, for each relay based on the respectiveoperational information, a respective effective number of relay cyclesconsumed by operation of the respective relay, determine, for eachrelay, a modified number of remaining relay cycles based on a differencebetween the respective manufacturer total estimated lifetime and therespective effective number of relay cycles consumed, determine, basedon the modified number of remaining relay cycles for each relay of theplurality of relays, relay lifetime prognostic information indicative ofa remaining lifetime of the plurality of relays, and output the relaylifetime prognostic information.

In various examples, the operational parameters include at least one ofelectrical parameters or environmental parameters. In at least oneexample, the at least one computing device is further configured toprovide the modified number of remaining relay cycles for a respectiverelay to a respective uninterruptible power supply that includes therespective relay. In some examples, the relay lifetime prognosticinformation includes at least one of information indicative of aremaining lifetime of each relay of the plurality of relays, informationindicative of an expected failure time of each relay of the plurality ofrelays, information indicative of a load type of each relay of theplurality of relays, information indicative of a remaining lifetime ofeach relay of the plurality of relays based on a correspondingmanufacturer, information indicative of aging over time of each relay ofthe plurality of relays, or information indicative of a number offailures of failed relays based on a corresponding type ofimplementation.

According to at least one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readablemedium storing thereon sequences of computer-executable instructions foroperating an uninterruptible power supply including at least one sensorand at least one relay is provided, the sequences of computer-executableinstructions including instructions that instruct at least one processorto determine, based on stored relay specifications, a manufacturer totalestimated relay lifetime, receive operational information indicative ofoperational parameters of operation of the at least one relay,determine, based on the operational information, an effective number ofrelay cycles consumed by the operation of the at least one relay,determine a modified number of remaining relay cycles, the modifiednumber of remaining relay cycles being based on a difference between themanufacturer total estimated lifetime and the effective number of relaycycles consumed, and output remaining relay lifetime informationindicative of the modified number of remaining relay cycles.

In various examples, the operational parameters include at least one ofelectrical parameters and environmental parameters. In at least oneexample, the uninterruptible power supply further includes acommunications interface configured to be communicatively coupled to atleast one server, wherein the instructions are further configured toinstruct the at least one processor to provide component informationindicative of the at least one relay to the at least one server via thecommunications interface. In some examples, the component informationincludes at least one of the remaining relay lifetime information, theoperational information, or the stored relay specifications.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various aspects of at least one embodiment are discussed below withreference to the accompanying figures, which are not intended to bedrawn to scale. The figures are included to provide an illustration anda further understanding of the various aspects and embodiments, and areincorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, but are notintended as a definition of the limits of any particular embodiment. Thedrawings, together with the remainder of the specification, serve toexplain principles and operations of the described and claimed aspectsand embodiments. In the figures, each identical or nearly identicalcomponent that is illustrated in various figures is represented by alike numeral. For purposes of clarity, not every component may belabeled in every figure. In the figures:

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of an uninterruptible power supplyaccording to an example;

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of a communication system accordingto an example;

FIG. 3 illustrates a process of operating the communication systemaccording to a first example;

FIG. 4 illustrates a process of operating the communication systemaccording to a second example;

FIG. 5 illustrates a process of operating the communication systemaccording to a third example;

FIGS. 6A-6B illustrate a process of determining remaining componentlifetime information according to an example;

FIGS. 7A-7B illustrate a process of determining a component load typeaccording to an example;

FIG. 8 illustrates a graph of component lifetime prognostic informationaccording to a first example;

FIG. 9 illustrates a graph of component lifetime prognostic informationaccording to a second example;

FIG. 10 illustrates a graph of component lifetime prognostic informationaccording to a third example;

FIG. 11 illustrates a graph of component lifetime prognostic informationaccording to a fourth example;

FIG. 12 illustrates a graph of component lifetime prognostic informationaccording to a fifth example;

FIG. 13 illustrates a graph of component lifetime prognostic informationaccording to a sixth example;

FIG. 14 illustrates a graph of component lifetime prognostic informationaccording to a seventh example; and

FIG. 15 illustrates a graph of component lifetime prognostic informationaccording to an eighth example.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Examples of the methods and systems discussed herein are not limited inapplication to the details of construction and the arrangement ofcomponents set forth in the following description or illustrated in theaccompanying drawings. The methods and systems are capable ofimplementation in other embodiments and of being practiced or of beingcarried out in various ways. Examples of specific implementations areprovided herein for illustrative purposes only and are not intended tobe limiting. In particular, acts, components, elements and featuresdiscussed in connection with any one or more examples are not intendedto be excluded from a similar role in any other examples.

Also, the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose ofdescription and should not be regarded as limiting. Any references toexamples, embodiments, components, elements or acts of the systems andmethods herein referred to in the singular may also embrace embodimentsincluding a plurality, and any references in plural to any embodiment,component, element or act herein may also embrace embodiments includingonly a singularity. References in the singular or plural form are nointended to limit the presently disclosed systems or methods, theircomponents, acts, or elements. The use herein of “including,”“comprising,” “having,” “containing,” “involving,” and variationsthereof is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter andequivalents thereof as well as additional items.

References to “or” may be construed as inclusive so that any termsdescribed using “or” may indicate any of a single, more than one, andall of the described terms. In addition, in the event of inconsistentusages of terms between this document and documents incorporated hereinby reference, the term usage in the incorporated features issupplementary to that of this document; for irreconcilable differences,the term usage in this document controls.

As discussed above, uninterruptible power supplies (UPSs) may beimplemented to provide regulated, uninterrupted power for sensitiveand/or critical loads. UPSs include various components including, forexample, relays, capacitors, energy storage devices, and so forth. UPScomponents may have finite lifetimes, after which the components mayfail partially or completely and consequently may not operate in anoptimal manner. If one or more components of a UPS fails, the UPS may beunable to operate effectively or, in some cases, at all. Accordingly, itmay be advantageous to replace components near an end-of-life to avoidsituations in which the components fail while the UPS is in operation.However, replacing components too early may disadvantageously result inincreased component costs.

Manufacturers of UPS components may include component lifetimeestimation specifications with a manufacturer data sheet to aid users inestimating a remaining component lifetime. For example, a manufacturerof a relay may include, in a manufacturer data sheet, an estimatedlifetime of the relay. The estimated lifetime may be expressed as aspecified number of switching cycles for a specified set of operationparameters (for example, for a specified temperature, current, voltage,power, and so forth). A user may estimate operational parameters of therelay, and use the estimated operation parameters to estimate a lifetimeof the relay based on the manufacturer data sheet.

However, an estimated lifetime derived from the manufacturer data sheetmay be incomplete and/or inaccurate. For example, because a manufacturerdata sheet is unlikely to provide an estimated lifetime of the relay forevery possible combination of operational parameters, the manufacturerdata sheet is likely incomplete. Furthermore, because the relay may beexposed to various combinations of operational parameters over thelifetime of the relay, an estimate derived from the manufacturer datasheet may be inaccurate because the estimate may be based on animprecise combination of different lifetime estimates.

In addition to the foregoing deficiencies, determining a remaininglifetime of a relay may be laborious where an operator must manuallydetermine various operation parameters specified by the manufacturerdata sheet and manually estimate a remaining lifetime based on theoperation parameters and the manufacturer data sheet. Becausedetermining the remaining lifetime may be laborious, operators may bemore likely to forego performing frequent remaining lifetimeestimations, and err on the side of caution by replacing componentsearlier than necessary, which leads to increased component costs.Alternatively, operators may not replace components frequently enough,which may lead to undesirable component and/or UPS failures.

Current UPS systems are not typically designed with the capability toautomatically and accurately determine a remaining lifetime of UPScomponents. Thus, current systems may leave a user uncertain about howoften to replace UPS components, which may lead to increased costs andequipment failures. This is a technical problem. Examples providedherein provide a technical solution to this technical problem.

An exemplary embodiment of a UPS is provided in which components of oneor more UPSs are monitored and analyzed to automatically determine aremaining lifetime of the components. For example, the components of theone or more UPSs may include relays, capacitors, energy storage devices,or other UPS components. A remaining lifetime may be repeatedlydetermined based on operation parameters to yield a remaining lifetimecalculation with minimal or no human interaction. Prognostics may bedetermined with respect to the components' remaining lifetimes toprovide an operator with information that may be used to efficientlymanage the components. Accordingly, examples of the disclosure enabledevice operators to reduce costs associated with component replacementwhile reducing a likelihood of component failure.

At least this foregoing combination of features comprises a systemdesign that serves as a technical solution to the foregoing technicalproblem. This technical solution is not routine, is unconventional, andis not well-understood in the field of UPS design. This technicalsolution is a practical application of the exemplary system at leastbecause the technical solution solves the foregoing technical problemand constitutes an improvement in the technical field of UPS design byproviding a UPS configured to make a determination that assists a userwith keeping technical equipment operational.

In various aspects, examples are provided with respect to UPS devicesincluding one or more components. As appreciated by one or ordinaryskill in the art, UPSs may be implemented in various environmentsincluding, for example, data centers. Accordingly, at least one exampleof a data center is provided for purposes of explanation.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a UPS 100. The UPS 100 includes an input102, an AC/DC converter 104, one or more DC busses 106, a DC/DCconverter 108, a battery 110, a controller 112, a DC/AC inverter 114, anoutput 116, sensors 118, a display 120, and a communication interface122. The AC/DC converter 104 optionally includes at least one relay 124,the one or more DC busses 106 optionally include at least one relay 126,the DC/DC converter 108 optionally includes at least one relay 128, andthe DC/AC inverter 114 optionally includes at least one relay 130.

The input 102 is electrically coupled to the AC/DC converter 104 and isconfigured to be electrically coupled an AC power source (not pictured),such as an AC mains power supply. The AC/DC converter 104 iselectrically coupled to the input 102 and to the one or more DC busses106, and is communicatively coupled to the controller 112. The one ormore DC busses 106 are electrically coupled to the AC/DC converter 104,the DC/DC converter 108, and to the DC/AC inverter 114, and arecommunicatively coupled to the controller 112.

The DC/DC converter 108 is electrically coupled to the one or more DCbusses 106 and to the battery 110, and is communicatively coupled to thecontroller 112. The battery 110 is electrically coupled to the DC/DCconverter 108, and is communicatively coupled to the controller 112. Thecontroller 112 is communicatively coupled to the AC/DC converter 104,the one or more DC busses 106, the DC/DC converter 108, the battery 110,the DC/AC inverter 114, the sensors 118, the display 120, and thecommunication interface 122. The DC/AC inverter 114 is electricallycoupled to the one or more DC busses 106 and to the output 116, and iscommunicatively coupled to the controller 112. The output 116 iselectrically coupled to the DC/AC inverter 114, and may be electricallycoupled to an external load (not pictured).

The sensors 118 are communicatively coupled to the controller 112. Insome examples, the sensors 118 may be coupled to one or more of thecomponents 104-110 and 114. For example, the sensors 118 may beconfigured to sense one or more parameters of one or more of thecomponents 104-110 and 114, as discussed in greater detail below. Forexample, the sensors 118 may include one or more voltage, current, orpower sensors coupled to one or more of the components 104-110 and 114to sense electrical characteristics thereof. The display 120 iscommunicatively coupled to the controller 112. The communicationinterface 122 is communicatively coupled to the controller 112, and maybe communicatively coupled to one or more external devices (for example,via a wired or wireless connection). For example, the communicationinterface 122 may include an antenna configured to transduce currentsignals into electromagnetic signals and vice versa.

The input 102 is configured to be electrically coupled to an input powersource, such as an AC mains power source, to receive input AC powerhaving an input voltage level. The UPS 100 is configured to operate indifferent modes of operation based on the input voltage level of the ACpower provided to the input 102. When AC power provided to the input 102is acceptable (for example, by having parameters, such as an inputvoltage value, that meet specified criteria, such as falling within arange of acceptable voltage values), the UPS 100 operates in a normalmode of operation. In the normal mode of operation, AC power received atthe input 102 is provided to the AC/DC converter 104. The AC/DCconverter 104 converts the AC power into DC power and provides the DCpower to the one or more DC busses 106. For example, converting the ACpower may include modulating, by the AC/DC converter 104, a switchingstate of the optional at least one relay 124. The one or more DC busses106 distribute the DC power to the DC/DC converter 108 and to the DC/ACinverter 114, which may include modulating a switching state of theoptional at least one relay 126. The DC/DC converter 108 converts thereceived DC power and provides the converted DC power to the battery 110to charge one or more backup power supplies, including the battery 110,which may include modulating a switching state of the optional at leastone relay 128. The DC/AC inverter 114 receives DC power from the one ormore DC busses 106, converts the DC power into regulated AC power, andprovides the regulated AC power to the output 116 to be delivered to aload, which may include modulating a switching state of the optional atleast one relay 130.

The display 120 may display information indicating that the UPS 100 isoperating in the normal mode of operation in addition to other operationinformation including, for example, voltage information, powerinformation, current information, and so forth. The communicationinterface 122 may similarly output one or more communications indicatingthat the UPS 100 is operating in the normal mode of operation inaddition to other operation information including, for example, voltageinformation, power information, current information, and so forth. Forexample, the communication interface 122 may include a wirelesscommunication interface (including, for example, an antenna), a wiredcommunication interface (including, for example, at least one wiredcommunication port), or a combination of both, configured to provide UPSinformation to one or more external devices, such as user devices,external servers, and so forth.

When AC power provided to the input 102 from the AC mains power sourceis not acceptable (for example, by having parameters, such as inputvoltage values, that do not meet specified criteria), the UPS 100operates in a backup mode of operation. In the backup mode of operation,DC power is discharged from a backup power supply of the UPS 100. Forexample, DC power may be discharged from the battery 110 to the DC/DCconverter 108. The DC/DC converter 108 converts the received DC powerand distributes the DC power amongst the one or more DC busses 106. Forexample, the DC/DC converter 108 may evenly distribute the power amongstthe one or more DC busses 106. The one or more DC busses 106 provide thereceived power to the DC/AC inverter 114. The DC/AC inverter 114receives the DC power from the one or more DC busses 106, converts theDC power into regulated AC power, and provides the regulated AC power tothe output 116.

The display 120 may display information indicating that the UPS 100 isoperating in the backup mode of operation in addition to other operationinformation including, for example, voltage information, powerinformation, current information, and so forth. The communicationinterface 122 may similarly output one or more communications indicatingthat the UPS 100 is operating in the backup mode of operation inaddition to other operation information including, for example, voltageinformation, power information, current information, and so forth. Forexample, the communication interface 122 may include a wirelesscommunication interface (including, for example, an antenna), a wiredcommunication interface (including, for example, at least one wiredcommunication port), or a combination of both, configured to provide UPSinformation to one or more external devices, such as user devices,external servers, and so forth.

Accordingly, operation of the UPS 100 may vary depending on a mode ofoperation of the UPS 100 which, in turn, may depend on certainparameters of the UPS 100 such as input voltage values. For example, thesensors 118 may include one or more voltage sensors configured to sensean input voltage received at the input 102 and provide sensorinformation indicative of the sensed voltage to the controller 112. Thecontroller 112 may determine a mode of operation of the UPS 100 based onthe sensor information received from the sensors 118, and controloperation of the UPS 100 accordingly. Feedback indicative of the mode ofoperation and/or other operation information may be provided to one ormore users via the display 120 and/or the communication interface 122.

The sensors 118 may include alternate or additional sensors configuredto sense alternate or additional parameters. For example, the sensors118 may be configured to sense an ambient temperature, a current throughone or more components of the UPS 100, a voltage across one or morecomponents of the UPS 100, and so forth. The sensors 118 may provide thesensor information indicative of the sensed parameters to the controller112. The controller 112 may determine properties of the UPS 100 based atleast in part on the sensor information, and provide feedback indicativeof the properties of the UPS 100 to one or more users via the display120 and/or the communication interface 122.

For example, the controller 112 may determine a remaining lifetime ofone or more components of the UPS 100 based at least in part on thesensor information. In various examples, a component may include a relaydevice having a lifetime expressed as a number of remaining cycles. Thecontroller 112 may provide feedback as to the remaining lifetime to oneor more users via the display 120 and/or the communication interface122. Each of the components 104-110 and 114 may include one or morecomponents having a finite lifetime including, for example, relays,capacitors, energy storage devices, and so forth. For example, and asdiscussed above, the AC/DC converter 104 may optionally include the atleast one relay 124, the one or more DC busses 106 may optionallyinclude at least one relay 126, the DC/DC converter 108 may optionallyinclude at least one relay 128, and the DC/AC inverter 114 mayoptionally include at least one relay 130. The controller 112 mayreceive, from the sensors 118, sensor information indicative ofoperating parameters of at least one of the components 104-110 and 114,determine remaining component lifetime information based at least inpart on the sensor information, and provide feedback indicative of theremaining component lifetime information to one or more users via thedisplay 120 and the communication interface 122.

Accordingly, in various examples, the UPS 100 may determine a remaininglifetime of one or more components of the UPS 100 having a finitelifetime. The UPS 100 may determine the remaining lifetime and provideinformation indicative of or pertaining to the remaining lifetime to oneor more external devices or users via the display 120 and/orcommunication interface 122, such that the information may beeffectively disseminated to pertinent entities (for example, usersoperating a data center in which the UPS 100 is implemented). In otherexamples, discussed in greater detail below, the UPS 100 may provideinformation that can be used to determine a remaining lifetime of one ormore components to another computing device configured to determine theremaining lifetime of the one or more components.

For example, FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of a component analysissystem 200 according to an example. The component analysis system 200includes a UPS 202, a server 204, and a user device 206. For example,the UPS 202 may be an example of the UPS 100. Although each of thecomponents 202-206 is identified in singular form for purposes ofexplanation, each of the components 202-206 may include multiplecomponents. For example, the UPS 202 may include multiple UPSs, theserver 204 may include multiple servers, and the user device 206 mayinclude multiple user devices. Accordingly, in some examples, the server204 may be communicatively coupled to multiple UPSs, including the UPS202.

The UPS 202 is communicatively coupled to the server 204 and the userdevice 206 (for example, via the communications interface 102). Theserver 204 is communicatively coupled to the UPS 202 and the user device206. The user device 206 is communicatively coupled to the UPS 202 andthe server 204. In other examples, fewer communicative connections maybe present. For example, the UPS 202 may not be directly communicativelycoupled to the user device 206.

The components 202-206 may be remote from one another. For example,where the UPS 202 is implemented in a data center, the server 204 may beexternal to the data center (for example, by being implemented in acloud computing environment). In some examples, some or all of thecommunicative connections between the components 202-206 may beunidirectional or may be bi-directional. For example, the UPS 202 maysend and receive communications to and from the server 204 and the userdevice 206 via a communications interface, such as the communicationsinterface 102. In other examples, the UPS 202 may only sendcommunications to the server 204 and may not receive communications fromthe server 204.

The UPS 202 may be configured to provide information indicative of, orpertinent to, a remaining lifetime of one or more components of the UPS202 to one or both of the server 204 and the user device 206 tofacilitate dissemination of information to one or more users. Forexample, the UPS 202 may provide remaining lifetime information to theuser device 206 such that a user of the user device 206 may choosewhether or not to take corrective action (for example, by replacing acomponent that is near an end-of-life) based on the remaining lifetimeinformation. In another example, the UPS 202 may provide remaininglifetime information to the server 204 such that the server 204 maydetermine prognostics based on the remaining lifetime information. Theserver 204 may subsequently provide the prognostics to a user, such asvia the user device 206. In some examples, the server 204 may receiveremaining lifetime information from various UPSs, including the UPS 202,and generate prognostic information based on all or a subset of thereceived remaining lifetime information. In these examples, theprognostic information may include comparative prognostic informationcomparing components within a single UPS, and/or components of thevarious UPSs.

For example, FIG. 3 illustrates a process 300 of operating the componentanalysis system 200 according to an example. Acts of the process 300 maybe performed by all or a subset of the components 202-206.

At act 302, the process 300 begins.

At act 304, remaining component lifetime information is determined. Forexample, the UPS 202 may determine remaining lifetime information of oneor more components of the UPS 202. The one or more components mayinclude one or more of the optional relays 124-130 of the components104-110 and 114. As discussed in greater detail below with respect toFIGS. 6A-6B, the UPS 202 may execute the determination based on variousoperational information received from one or more sensors, such as thesensors 118, indicative of operational parameters of the one or morecomponents. For example, the operational parameters indicated by theoperational information may include electrical parameters (for example,current, voltage, and so forth) and/or environmental parameters (forexample, ambient temperature). The remaining component lifetimeinformation may be expressed depending on a type of the component and/orbased on user preferences or configurations. For example, in examples inwhich the component is a relay, the remaining lifetime information maybe expressed as an estimated number of remaining cycles of the relay. Asused herein in examples in which the component is a relay, “remaininglifetime information” may include, in addition to or in lieu of theestimated number of remaining cycles of the relay, an estimated amountof remaining operation time of the relay, such as a remaining number ofdays of operation or a predicted date on which the relay will reach anend-of-life condition.

At act 306, the remaining component lifetime information is output to auser. For example, the UPS 202 may output the remaining componentlifetime information to a user via a local display, such as the display120. In another example, the UPS 202 may output the remaining componentlifetime information to the user device 206 in addition to, or in lieuof, outputting the remaining component lifetime information via thelocal display. The remaining component lifetime information may beexpressed in various forms depending on a type of the component and, insome examples, based on user preference. For example, a user mayconfigure the UPS 202 to provide the remaining component lifetimeinformation of a relay as a number of remaining cycles, a number ofremaining days of operation, both, or another metric.

At act 308, component information is provided to a server. For example,the UPS 202 may provide the component information to the server 204and/or other servers. The component information may include theremaining component lifetime information in addition to otherinformation. For example, the component information may includehistorical information about the component or the UPS 202 (for example,mission profile information relating to historical temperature values,current values, voltage values, power values, and so forth), informationused to determine the remaining component lifetime information at act304 (for example, the operational information), model information of thecomponent, manufacturer-supplied information of the component, and soforth. In other examples, the component information may not include theremaining component lifetime information, but may include the historicalinformation about the component or the UPS 202, the information used todetermine the remaining component lifetime information at act 304, themodel information of the component, the manufacturer-suppliedinformation of the component, and so forth. The server 204 may determinethe remaining component lifetime information based on this componentinformation.

At act 310, component lifetime prognostic information is provided to auser. For example, the server 204 may determine the component lifetimeprognostic information based on the received component information, andprovide the component lifetime prognostic information to the user device206 for feedback to a user (for example, via the user device 206).Component lifetime prognostic information may include any informationindicative of or relating to a remaining lifetime of one or morecomponents derived from the received component information. In someexamples, the component lifetime prognostic information may pertain onlyto components of the UPS 202, and in other examples, the componentlifetime prognostic information may pertain to components of variousUPSs.

For example, and as discussed below with respect to FIGS. 8-15, thecomponent lifetime prognostic information may indicate a remainingcomponent lifetime relative to a starting lifetime, a remainingcomponent lifetime relative to a manufacturer's estimations, a remaininglifetime for each component of a specific type, a prediction of certaincomponents expected to fail within various time ranges, a determinationof an amount of life consumed segregated by a load type, componentlifetime consumed over time, component failures segregated by componenttype, or other prognostic information. The server 204 may employ one ormore techniques to determine the component lifetime prognosticinformation based on the received component information, such as one ormore regression techniques. For example, in determining an expectedfailure date of a relay component, the server 204 may determine aremaining number of cycles of the relay component and an averagehistorical rate of relay cycle consumption, and determine an expectedfailure date based on the remaining number of cycles if the relaycomponent continues to be cycled at the average historical rate of relaycycle consumption. In some examples, act 310 may be executed responsiveto the user requesting the prognostic information. For example, the usermay request certain types of prognostic information from the server 204via the user device 206. In another example, act 310 may be executedsubsequent to act 310 with or without a user input.

At act 312, the process 300 ends.

Similar processes of operating the component analysis system 200 arewithin the scope of the disclosure. For example, FIG. 4 illustrates aprocess 400 of operating the component analysis system 200 according toanother example. The process 400 is similar to the process 300, with anadditional act executed. More particularly, acts 402-410 of the process400 are substantially identical to acts 302-310 of the process 300.After the execution of act 410, which is substantially identical to act310, the process 400 continues to act 412.

At act 412 of the process 400, a remaining component lifetime model of aUPS is updated. For example, the server 204 may update a remainingcomponent lifetime model of the UPS 202. As discussed above, the server204 may be coupled to multiple UPSs, which may include the UPS 202. Theserver 204 may update the remaining component lifetime model of the UPS202 if the server 204 determines, based on component informationreceived from other UPSs, that component information generated by theUPS 202 may be inaccurate.

At act 414, the process 400 ends.

FIG. 5 illustrates a process 500 of operating the component analysissystem 200 according to another example. The process 500 issubstantially similar to the process 300. However, certain acts of theprocess 500 are executed by components other than those executing actsof the process 300. More particularly, in the process 500, the server204 may be configured to determine remaining component lifetimeinformation in lieu of the UPS 202.

At act 502, the process 500 begins.

At act 504, component information is provided to an external server. Forexample, the UPS 202 may provide component information to the server204. The component information may include information that may be usedto determine remaining component lifetime information, such aselectrical parameters and environmental parameters, and otherinformation, such as historical information about the component or theUPS 202 (for example, mission profile information), model information ofthe component, manufacturer-supplied information of the component, andso forth.

At act 506, remaining component lifetime information is determined bythe external server. For example, the server 204 may determine theremaining component lifetime information based on component informationreceived at act 504 including, for example, electrical parameters andenvironmental parameters and the manufacturer-supplied information. Act506 may be substantially similar to act 304 and 404, except that the actis executed by the server 204 rather than the UPS 202.

At act 508, remaining component lifetime information is output. Forexample, the server 204 may output the remaining component lifetimeinformation to the user device 206 for feedback to a user. In anotherexample, the server 204 may provide the remaining component lifetimeinformation to the UPS 202, and the UPS 202 may display the remainingcomponent lifetime information on a local display, for example, such asthe display 120.

Act 510 is substantially identical to act 310.

At act 512, the process 500 ends.

In various examples, the processes 300, 400, and 500 may further includevalidating, by the server 204, a model implemented by a respective UPS,such as the UPS 202, used to determine first remaining componentlifetime information. For example, the server 404 may analyze respectiveremaining component lifetime information provided by each of a pluralityof UPSs, including the UPS 202, to validate the model implemented by theUPS 202 to determine the first remaining component lifetime information.

Accordingly, various processes, such as the processes 300, 400, and 500,may be executed with respect to the component analysis system 200. Moreparticularly, processes may be executed to automatically determineremaining component lifetime information of various components of theUPS 202, and generate prognostic information based thereon such that anoperator of the UPS 202 may operate the UPS 202 more efficiently. Anexample of determining remaining component lifetime information (forexample, as discussed above with respect to acts 304, 404, and 506) isprovided with respect to FIGS. 6A-6B.

FIGS. 6A-6B illustrate a process 600 of determining remaining componentlifetime information according to an example. For purposes ofillustration only, the process 600 provides an example in which acomponent for which remaining component lifetime information isdetermined includes a relay. However, it is to be appreciated that theprinciples of the disclosure are applicable to other componentsincluding, for example, capacitors, energy storage devices, and soforth. For example, the process 600 may be executed by the UPS 202 (forexample, by a controller, such as the controller 112, of the UPS 202) todetermine remaining component lifetime pertaining to one or more relaysof the UPS 202.

At act 602, the process 600 begins.

At act 604, a determination is made as to whether a remaining life of arelay under examination has previously been determined. For example, adetermination may be made by the UPS 202 as to whether the UPS 202 haspreviously executed the process 600 with respect to the relay underexamination. If a remaining life of the relay under examination haspreviously been performed (604 YES), then the process 600 continues toact 608. Otherwise, if a remaining life of the relay under examinationhas not been previously performed (604 NO), then the process 600continues to act 606.

At act 606, relay specifications are accessed or retrieved. For example,relay specifications may include manufacturer specifications. Asdiscussed above, manufacturers may provide manufacturer data sheets withmanufacturer components, such as relays. Manufacturer data sheets mayinclude various manufacturer-supplied information including, forexample, a manufacturer total estimated component lifetime (for example,a manufacturer total estimated relay lifetime expressed as a number ofrelay switching cycles) at controlled operation parameters. For example,a manufacturer data sheet may include an estimated total relay lifetimeas a number of cycles at one or more specified test currents and/ortemperatures. Estimated component lifetime from a manufacturer datasheet may be stored by a device in which the relay is implemented. Forexample, manufacturer specifications pertaining to an estimatedcomponent lifetime may be stored in firmware of the UPS 202. In variousexamples, therefore, act 606 may include accessing firmware to determinea manufacturer total estimated relay lifetime as a number of cycles(N_(test)) at a test temperature (T_(test)) and a test current(I_(test)).

At act 608, an initial remaining number of cycles (N_(rem)) isdetermined. For example, the initial remaining number of cycles N_(rem)may be set to a most-recently determined number of remaining cycles, asdiscussed in greater detail below with respect to act 636, if aremaining life of the relay under examination has previously beenperformed (604 YES). That is, if the process 600 proceeded to act 608from act 604, the initial remaining number of cycles N_(rem) may be setto the most-recently determined number of remaining cycles.Alternatively, the initial remaining number of cycles N_(rem) may be setto the manufacturer total estimated relay lifetime N_(test) if theprocess 600 has not been previously executed with respect to a relayunder examination (604 NO), that is, if the process 600 proceeded to act608 from act 606.

At act 610, a base degradation rate R_(base) is determined. The basedegradation rate R_(base) may indicate a degradation rate of the relaybased on the initial remaining number of cycles N_(rem). In variousexamples, the base degradation rate R_(base) is set to be equal to areciprocal of the initial remaining number of cycles N_(rem).

At act 612, a determination is made as to whether a relay switchingevent has occurred. For example, a controller of the UPS 202, such asthe controller 112, may control switching operation of a relay inoperating the UPS 202 and therefore determine if the controller hasswitched the relay. A switching event being determined to have occurredmay depend on a switching state of the relay. For example, a switchingevent may be determined to have occurred only if the relay switches froman off (that is, open and non-conducting) state to an on (that is,closed and conducting) state or vice versa. Alternatively, a switchingevent may be determined to occur regardless of which state the relaytransitions into. If a switching event is determined not to haveoccurred (612 NO), then the process 600 returns to act 612, which may beexecuted repeatedly (for example, continuously, periodically,aperiodically, and so forth) until a switching event is determined tohave occurred. If a switching event is determined to have occurred (612YES), then the process 600 continues to act 614.

At act 614, a relay load type is determined. A load type may becategorized as resistive, inductive, capacitive, or a combination of theforegoing. A load may refer to a particular component or set ofcomponents of the UPS 202 that the relay provides power to, rather thana load powered by the UPS 202 itself. As discussed in greater detailbelow with respect to FIGS. 7A-7B, determining a relay load type may bebased on current conducted by the relay, a voltage across the relay, ora combination of both.

At act 616, a relay current (I_(L)) is determined. The relay currentI_(L) may be a current conducted by the relay just before, or justafter, the switching event detected at act 612. For example, if therelay switching event included the relay transitioning from the offstate to the on state, then the relay current I_(L) may be a currentconducted after the switching event. Alternatively, if the relayswitching event included the relay transitioning from the on state tothe off state, then the relay current I_(L) may be a current conductedbefore the switching event. At act 618, a relay stress factor isdetermined. The relay stress factor may be indicative of an amount ofstress exerted on the relay resulting from the relay current I_(L)determined at act 616 relative to a manufacturer test current providedin a manufacturer data sheet. For example, the stress factor may bedefined as,

$S = \frac{I_{L}}{I_{test}}$

where S is a stress factor, I_(L) is the load current determined at act616, and I_(test) is the test current derived from a manufacturer datasheet at act 606.

At act 620, a load degradation multiplier (π_(L)) is determined. Theload degradation multiplier π_(L) is a stress factor calculation basedon load type, and is indicative of modifications to the base degradationrate R_(base) based on a load type determined at act 614, and the loadcurrent I_(L). More particularly, the load degradation multiplier π_(L)may be defined for resistive loads as,

$\pi_{L} = e^{{(\frac{S}{0.8})}^{2}}$

where e is the natural exponential function, and S is the stress factor.The load stress factor π_(L) may be defined for an inductive load as,

$\pi_{L} = e^{{(\frac{S}{0.4})}^{2}}$

where e is the natural exponential function, and S is the stress factor.The load stress factor π_(L) may be defined for a capacitive load as,

$\pi_{L} = e^{{(\frac{S}{0.2})}^{2}}$

where e is the natural exponential function, and S is the stress factor.In some examples, a relay may power multiple types of loads. In variousexamples in which a relay powers multiple types of loads (that is, wheremultiple relay load types are identified at act 614), a determinationmay be made as to a load degradation multiplier π_(L) for each type ofload that the relay powers, and a worst-case (for example, largest) loaddegradation multiplier π_(L) may be selected as the load degradationmultiplier π_(L) at act 620.

At act 622, a modified degradation rate (R₁) is determined. The modifieddegradation rate R₁ is indicative of the base degradation rate R_(base)modified in accordance with the load degradation multiplier π_(L) Forexample, the modified degradation rate R₁ may be determined as,

R ₁=π_(L) *R _(base)

where R₁ is the modified degradation rate R₁, π_(L) is the loaddegradation multiplier, and R_(base) is the base degradation rateR_(base).

At act 624, a relay temperature stress factor (π_(TO)) is determined.The relay temperature stress factor π_(TO) may vary based on an ambienttemperature of the relay, and based on a junction temperature of therelay, which may increase in proportion with the load current I_(L) ofthe relay. For example, the relay temperature stress factor π_(TO) maybe defined as,

$\pi_{TO} = {e\left( {\frac{{- E}a_{op}}{{0.0}0008617}\left( {\frac{1}{T_{AO} + T_{R} + 273} - \frac{1}{298}} \right)} \right)}$

where π_(TO) is a relay temperature stress factor π_(TO), e is thenatural exponential function, Ea_(op) is an operating activation energy(Ea_(op)), T_(AO) is an ambient temperature of the relay, and T_(R) is ajunction temperature rise above the ambient temperature T_(AO).

The operating activation energy Ea_(op) may be a constant, known valuecorresponding to a type of the relay. For example, the UPS 202 maymaintain a mapping of operating activation energy values to relay typesand thereby derive the operating activation energy Ea_(op) based on theknown relay type. The ambient temperature of the relay T_(AO) may bedetermined by one or more temperature sensors near the relay, such asone of the sensors 118. The junction temperature rise T_(R) may bedetermined based on measurements from one or more temperature sensorsnear the relay junction, such as one of the sensors 118. In anotherexample, the junction temperature rise T_(R) may be estimated based on amapping of default temperature rise values to a relay type and/or loadcurrent conducted by the relay.

At act 626, a current degradation multiplier (X_(curr)) is determined.The current degradation multiplier X_(curr) may be determined based on atemperature variation between a temperature rise associated with, orcaused by, the load current I_(L), and a temperature rise associatedwith, or caused by, the test current I_(test). The current degradationmultiplier X_(curr) may be set equal to the relay temperature stressfactor π_(TO) determined at act 624, using values for the ambienttemperature of the relay T_(AO) and the junction temperature rise T_(R)above the ambient temperature T_(AO) that are based on the temperaturerise associated with the load current I_(L) as compared to the testcurrent test.

At act 628, a temperature degradation multiplier (X_(temp)) isdetermined. The temperature degradation multiplier X_(temp) may becalculated based on a temperature variation between an ambienttemperature T_(AO) and the test temperature T_(test). The temperaturedegradation multiplier X_(temp) may be set equal to the relaytemperature stress factor π_(TO) determined at act 624, using values forthe ambient temperature of the relay T_(AO) and the junction temperaturerise T_(R) above the ambient temperature T_(AO) that are based on thetemperature rise in the UPS 202.

At act 630, an effective temperature degradation multiplier(X_(eff_temp)) is determined. The effective temperature degradationmultiplier X_(eff_temp) may indicate a cumulative effect of the currentdegradation multiplier X_(curr) and the temperature degradationmultiplier X_(temp). The effective temperature degradation multiplierX_(eff_temp) may be determined as,

X _(eff_temp) =X _(curr) +X _(temp)

where X_(eff_temp) is the effective temperature degradation multiplierX_(eff_temp), X_(curr) is the current degradation multiplier X_(curr),and X_(temp) is the temperature degradation multiplier X_(temp).

At act 632, a final degradation rate (R₂) is determined. The finaldegradation rate R₂ may be indicative of the modified degradation rateR₁ further modified by the effective temperature degradation multiplierX_(eff_temp). For example, the final degradation rate R₂ may bedetermined as,

R ₂ =R ₁ *X _(eff_temp)

where R₂ is the final degradation rate R₂, R₁ is the modifieddegradation rate R₁, and X_(eff_temp) is the effective temperaturedegradation multiplier X_(eff_temp).

At act 634, an effective number of relay cycles consumed (N_(consumed))is determined. The effective number of relay cycles consumedN_(consumed) may be indicative of an effective number of switchingcycles consumed by the switching event identified at act 612 whenparameters including temperature and load current are considered. Forexample, although the relay may only actually switch once, the effectivenumber of relay cycles consumed N_(consumed) may be greater than onewhere operating conditions are more demanding than controlled testparameters (for example, by having a higher current or temperature thana test current or test temperature). The effective number of relaycycles consumed N_(consumed) may be equal to the reciprocal of the finaldegradation rate R₂.

At act 636, a modified number of remaining relay cycles (N_(mod)) isdetermined. The modified number of remaining relay cycles N_(mod) may beindicative of a remaining lifetime of the relay expressed as a number ofrelay cycles remaining. For example, the modified number of remainingrelay cycles N_(mod) may be determined as,

N _(mod) =N _(rem) −N _(consumed)

where N_(mod) is the modified number of remaining relay cycles N_(mod),N_(rem) is the remaining number of relay cycles N_(rem) determined atact 608, and N consumed is the effective number of relay cycles consumedN_(consumed) determined at act 634.

At act 638, the process 600 ends.

Accordingly, the process 600 may be executed to determine a moreaccurate remaining lifetime of a component than would be possible todetermine using only a manufacturer data sheet. For example, the process600 may be executed by the UPS 202 to determine a remaining lifetime ofa relay of the UPS 202. The process 600 may yield a remaining lifetimeas a number of switching cycles remaining before an end-of-life of therelay. In other examples, the remaining lifetime may be expressed inanother form, such as a remaining number of days, weeks, and/or yearsbefore an end-of-life of the relay. In various examples, a remainingnumber of days, weeks, and/or years before an end-of-life may bedetermined based on the remaining number of switching cycles, and viceversa. For example, a remaining number of days before an end-of-life ofthe relay may be determined by determining a remaining number of relayswitching cycles and an average rate of switching cycle consumption, anddetermining therefrom a remaining number of days before the remainingnumber of relay switching cycles is zero. Furthermore, as discussedabove, the UPS 202 may be configured to determine a remaining lifetimeof other components of the UPS 202.

In various examples, one or more acts of the process 600 may beoptionally implemented. For example, in some examples, acts 604,608-614, and 618-632 may be excluded such that only optional acts 606,616, 634, and 636 are executed. Acts 606, 616, 634, and 636 may beexecuted as one example of act 304, for example. In these examples ofthe process 300 and others, acts 304 and 306 may be optionally executed,and other optional acts of the process 300 (for example, acts 308 and310) may be excluded.

As discussed above with respect to act 614, the UPS 202 may beconfigured to determine a component load type, such as a relay loadtype. FIGS. 7A-7B illustrate a process 700 of determining a componentload type according to an example, which may be an example of the act614. For example, the process 700 may be executed by the UPS 202. Inother examples, the process 700 may be executed independently of theprocess 600. For purposes of explanation only, the process 700 providesan example of determining a relay load type.

At act 702, the process 700 begins.

At act 704, current and/or voltage samples are acquired. For example, acurrent sample may be a current conducted by a relay of the UPS 202, anda voltage sample may be a voltage across the relay. The UPS 202 mayinclude one or more sensors (for example, the sensors 118) configured todetermine the current and/or voltage values. As used herein, the term“electrical parameter samples” may include current samples and/orvoltage samples.

At act 706, a determination is made as to whether sampling is complete.For example, a determination may be made as to whether a thresholdnumber of samples have been acquired. If sampling is not complete (706NO), then the process 700 returns to act 704. Acts 704 and 706 may berepeatedly executed (for example, continuously, periodically,aperiodically, and so forth) until sampling is complete. In one example,sampling is performed periodically approximately every 58 μs over thecourse of approximately 20 ms until 256 samples have been acquired, atwhich point sampling is complete. If sampling is complete (706 YES),then the process 700 continues to act 708.

At act 708, two or more samples are averaged. For example, two or moreof the most-recent electrical parameter samples (for example, tencurrent samples) may be averaged together.

In another example, different groups of samples (for example, everygroup of five contiguous samples) may be averaged.

At act 710, a pattern match is executed. For example, the UPS 202 mayexecute a pattern match algorithm to determine if a pattern of theelectrical parameter samples matches a reference current patterncorresponding a known load type, such as a known current or voltagepattern of a resistive load, a known current or voltage pattern of aninductive load, or a known current or voltage pattern of a capacitiveload.

At act 712, a determination is made as to whether a match has been foundfrom the pattern match executed at act 710. If a match has been found(712 YES), then a load type is known to correspond to the load type ofthe matching pattern, and the process 700 continues to act 722.Otherwise, if a match has not been found (712 NO), then the process 700continues to act 714.

At act 714, a determination is made as to whether a load current isstable. For example, the UPS 202 may determine, based on the currentsamples determined at act 704, if a most-recently acquired group ofsamples (for example, the last 20 samples) vary by less than a thresholdamount from one another. If the samples vary by less than the thresholdamount, then the load current may be determined to be stable (714 YES),then the load type may be determined to be resistive. Accordingly, theprocess 700 proceeds to act 722. Otherwise, if the load current is notstable (714 NO), then the process 700 continues to act 716.

At act 716, a determination is made as to whether a load current ispeaky. For example, the UPS 202 may determine, based on the currentsamples determined at act 704, if the load current intermittentlyexceeds defined threshold values (for example, by peaking above thethreshold values). If the load current is determined to be peaky (716YES), then the process 700 continues to act 718.

At act 718, responsive to determining that the load current is peaky,the load current samples are ignored as transients. For example, anyload current samples exceeding the thresholds may be disregarded. Theprocess 700 may return to act 712 to determine if, without consideringthe disregarded load current samples, a match is found between the loadcurrent and any of the known current patterns.

Returning to act 716, if the load current is determined not to be peaky(716 NO), then the process 700 continues to act 720.

At act 720, a determination is made as to a phase difference between acurrent sample acquired at act 704 and a voltage sample acquired at act704. As appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art, a phase of acurrent provided to a load leads a phase of a voltage across the load ifthe load is inductive, and a phase of a current provided to a load lagsa phase of a voltage across the load if the load is capacitive.Accordingly, a load type may be determined at act 720 by determining aphase difference between the current and voltage samples acquired at act704 and determining if the current leads or lags the voltage, and theprocess 700 continues to act 722.

At act 722, a load type is determined. As discussed above, the process700 includes various acts (for example, acts 712, 714, and 720) that mayresult in the process 700 continuing to act 722 because a load type hasbeen determined. For example, a load type may be determined to beresistive, inductive, or capacitive at act 712 where a pattern match isfound, causing the process 700 to continue to act 722. Similarly, a loadtype may be determined to be resistive at act 714 where load current isstable, causing the process 700 to continue to act 722. In anotherexample, a load type may be determined to be inductive or capacitive atact 720 depending on a phase difference between a current and voltagesample, causing the process 700 to continue to act 722.

At act 724, the process 700 ends.

Accordingly, the process 700 may be executed to determine a load type.For example, the UPS 202 may execute the process 700 to determine arelay load type (for example, a resistive type, inductive type, orcapacitive type) of a relay of the UPS 202. The UPS 202 may execute theprocess 700 in connection with the process 600 (for example, as anexample of the act 614) or independently of the process 600.

As discussed above with respect to acts 310, 410, and 510, componentlifetime prognostic information may be generated based at least in parton component information provided, generated, and/or determined by oneor more UPSs, such as the UPS 202. For example, the component lifetimeprognostic information may be generated by the server 204 (which may be,for example, a cloud server) based on component information receivedfrom the UPS 202.

Component lifetime prognostic information may provide information aboutone or more components' lifetimes, and may be provided to users toenable the users to make more-informed decisions regarding thecomponents. In some examples, a server such as the server 204 may becommunicatively coupled to, and receive component information from,multiple UPSs, including the UPS 202. The server may generate and/orprovide component lifetime prognostic information based on componentinformation concerning like components from multiple UPSs.

For example, the server may generate component lifetime prognosticinformation indicating remaining component lifetime information formultiple relays (for example, multiple relays in the same UPS, or frommultiple UPSs). The component lifetime prognostic information indicatinginformation for multiple relays may be particularly beneficial for oneor more users receiving the remaining component lifetime information, atleast because users may interpret remaining component lifetimeinformation for each relay in the context of other relays. Examples ofcomponent lifetime prognostic information that may be generated (forexample, at acts 310, 410, and/or 510) will now be provided with respectto FIGS. 8-15.

FIG. 8 illustrates a graph 800 of component lifetime prognosticinformation according to a first example. The graph 800 may be generatedby a server, such as the server 204, based on information received frommultiple devices, including the UPS 202. The server may receivecomponent information from each of the multiple devices over a period oftime and generate the graph 800 based on all or a subset of the receivedcomponent information. For example, the server 204 may be a cloud serverconfigured to receive component information from multiple devicesincluding the UPS 202 pertaining to relay components.

The graph 800 includes an x-axis 802 indicating a remaining percentageof life for a component, a y-axis 804 indicating a number of componentscorresponding to a respective percentage, and data bars 806 including adata bar 808. The x-axis 802 is partitioned into ranges of percentages(including, for example, 0-10%, 10-20%, and so forth). Each of the databars 806 corresponds to a respective one of the ranges of percentages.Each of the data bars 806 further indicates a number of componentshaving a remaining lifetime falling within a respective range oflifetime percentage.

For example, the data bar 808 corresponds to the 90-100% remainingpercentage of life partition of the x-axis 802. A value of the data bar808 along the y-axis 804 indicates that slightly more than 80 of thecomponents have between 90% and 100% of remaining life. For example,where the graph 800 is generated based on component informationpertaining to relays implemented in devices such as UPSs, the data bar808 may indicate that slightly more than 80 relays have between 90% and100% of remaining life.

In other examples, the server 204 may generate graphs similar to thegraph 800 based on component information received from any number ofdevices and pertaining to any type of component, such as relays,capacitors, energy storage devices, and so forth. Although the x-axis802 is partitioned into particular ranges of percentages, any ranges ofpercentages may be implemented. Furthermore, other metrics of remainingcomponent lifetime may be implemented in other examples. For example,remaining component lifetime may be expressed in terms of a number ofremaining days until an end-of-life, a number of remaining switchingcycles (for example, in the context of relays), and so forth.

As discussed above, the server 204 may generate the graph 800. Theserver 204 may generate the graph 800 based on component informationreceived from a group of devices, including the UPS 202, over a periodof time. The devices included in the group of devices may beconfigurable, such as by being user-configurable. For example, a usermay configure or control the server 204 to provide component lifetimeprognostic information based on a group of devices including the UPS 202and any other devices in a data center in which the UPS 202 isimplemented for which component information is available. In otherexamples, the server 204 may dynamically determine an optimal group ofdevices from which to generate the graph 800 to provide a user with anoptimal amount of information.

Furthermore, the period of time over which component information isanalyzed may be controlled or configurable. For example, a user mayconfigure or control the server 204 to generate the graph 800 based oncomponent information received over the past day, week, year, or anyother time period. In other examples, the server 204 may dynamicallydetermine an optimal period of time to provide a user with an optimalamount of information.

FIG. 900 illustrates a graph 900 of component lifetime prognosticinformation according to a second example. The graph 900 may begenerated by a server, such as the server 204, based on informationreceived from multiple devices, including the UPS 202. The server mayreceive component information from each of the multiple devices over aperiod of time and generate the graph 900 based on all or a subset ofthe received component information. For example, the server 204 may be acloud server configured to receive component information from multipledevices including the UPS 202 pertaining to relay components.

The graph 900 includes a y-axis 902 indicating a number of componentsexpected to fail in a corresponding time period, an x-axis 904indicating partitioned time periods, and data points 906 including adata point 808. The x-axis 904 is partitioned into periods of months(including, for example, January 2019, February 2019, and so forth).Each of the data points 906 corresponds to a respective one of the timeperiods. Each of the data points 906 further corresponds to a number ofcomponents expected to fail, as indicated by the y-axis 902, within thecorresponding time period.

For example, the data point 908 corresponds to the December 2019 periodof the x-axis 904. A value of the data point 908 along the y-axis 902indicates that approximately 175 of the components are expected to failin the December 2019 time period. For example, where the graph 900 isgenerated based on component information pertaining to relaysimplemented in devices such as UPSs, the data point 908 may indicatethat approximately 175 relays are expected to fail in December 2019.

In other examples, the server 204 may generate graphs similar to thegraph 900 based on component information received from any number ofdevices and pertaining to any type of component, such as relays,capacitors, energy storage devices, and so forth. Although the x-axis904 is partitioned into particular time periods, any time periods may beimplemented, such as days, weeks, years, or periods of time notcorresponding to calendar time periods (for example, 30- or 31-dayperiods not aligning with calendar month dates).

Furthermore, while the y-axis 902 may indicate a number of componentsexpected to fail in a corresponding time period in some examples, othermetrics may be indicated by the y-axis 902. For example, the y-axis 902may indicate a number of components that should be replaced in acorresponding time period, even though the components may notnecessarily be expected to fail within the corresponding time period. Ametric indicated by the y-axis 902 may be configured by a user, forexample, or may be dynamically determined by the server 204 to providean optimal amount of information to a user.

As discussed above, the server 204 may generate the graph 900. Theserver 204 may generate the graph 900 based on component informationreceived from a group of devices, including the UPS 202, over a periodof time. The devices included in the group of devices may beconfigurable, such as by being user-configurable. For example, a usermay configure or control the server 204 to provide component lifetimeprognostic information based on a group of devices including the UPS 202and any other devices in a data center in which the UPS 202 isimplemented for which component information is available. In otherexamples, the server 204 may dynamically determine an optimal group ofdevices from which to generate the graph 900 to provide a user with anoptimal amount of information.

Furthermore, the period of time over which component information isanalyzed may be controlled or configurable. For example, a user mayconfigure or control the server 204 to generate the graph 800 based oncomponent information received over the past day, week, year, or anyother time period. Similarly, a range of time indicated by the x-axis904 may be configured by a user. In other examples, the server 204 maydynamically determine an optimal period of time to provide a user withan optimal amount of information.

FIG. 10 illustrates a graph 1000 of component lifetime prognosticinformation according to a third example. The graph 1000 may begenerated by a server, such as the server 204, based on informationreceived from multiple devices, including the UPS 202. The server mayreceive component information from each of the multiple devices over aperiod of time and generate the graph 1000 based on all or a subset ofthe received component information. For example, the server 204 may be acloud server configured to receive component information from multipledevices including the UPS 202 pertaining to relay components.

The graph 1000 includes an x-axis 1002 indicating enumerated components,a y-axis 1004 indicating a percentage of lifetime consumed for acorresponding one of the enumerated components, and groups of data bars1006 including a first group of data bars 1008 corresponding to a firstcomponent. Each of the groups of data bars 1006 includes a resistiveload data bar indicating a percentage of lifetime consumed for arespective component by a resistive load of the respective component, aninductive load data bar indicating a percentage of lifetime consumed fora respective component by an inductive load of the respective component,and a capacitive load data bar indicating a percentage of lifetimeconsumed for a respective component by a capacitive load of therespective component.

For example, the first group of data bars 1008 includes a resistive loaddata bar 1010 indicating a percentage of total lifetime of the firstcomponent consumed by a resistive load, an inductive load data bar 1012indicating a percentage of total lifetime of the first componentconsumed by an inductive load, and a capacitive load data bar 1014indicating a percentage of total lifetime of the first componentconsumed by a capacitive load. More particularly, the resistive loaddata bar 1010 indicates that approximately 40% of a total lifetime ofthe first component has been consumed by a resistive load, the inductiveload data bar 1012 indicates that approximately 38% of the totallifetime of the first component has been consumed by an inductive load,and the capacitive load data bar 1014 indicates that approximately 16%of the total lifetime of the first component has been consumed by acapacitive load. For example, where the graph 1000 is generated based oncomponent information pertaining to relays implemented in devices suchas UPSs, each of the group of data bars 1008 may indicate the types ofloads that have consumed various percentages of a total lifetime of acorresponding relay.

In other examples, the server 204 may generate graphs similar to thegraph 1000 based on component information received from any number ofdevices and pertaining to any type of component, such as relays,capacitors, energy storage devices, and so forth. Although the y-axis1004 may indicate a percentage of a total lifetime of a correspondingcomponent, in other examples, the y-axis 1004 may indicate a percentageof a consumed lifetime of a corresponding component. That is, each ofthe groups of bars 1006 may indicate a breakdown of the lifetime alreadyconsumed for each corresponding component, and thus sum to 100%regardless of a total lifetime consumed for each component.

As discussed above, the server 204 may generate the graph 1000. Theserver 204 may generate the graph 1000 based on component informationreceived from a group of devices, including the UPS 202, over a periodof time. The devices included in the group of devices may beconfigurable, such as by being user-configurable. For example, a usermay configure or control the server 204 to provide component lifetimeprognostic information based on a group of devices including the UPS 202and any other devices in a data center in which the UPS 202 isimplemented for which component information is available. In otherexamples, the server 204 may dynamically determine an optimal group ofdevices from which to generate the graph 1000 to provide a user with anoptimal amount of information. In still another example, the server 204may generate the graph 1000 based on component information received froma single device, such as the UPS 202. For example, the server 204 maygenerate the graph 1000 based on component information for every relayin the UPS 202.

Furthermore, the period of time over which component information isanalyzed may be controlled or configurable. For example, a user mayconfigure or control the server 204 to generate the graph 1000 based oncomponent information received over the past day, week, year, or anyother time period. In other examples, the server 204 may dynamicallydetermine an optimal period of time to provide a user with an optimalamount of information.

FIG. 11 illustrates a graph 1100 of component lifetime prognosticinformation according to a fourth example. The graph 1100 may begenerated by a server, such as the server 204, based on informationreceived from multiple devices, including the UPS 202. The server mayreceive component information from each of the multiple devices over aperiod of time and generate the graph 1100 based on all or a subset ofthe received component information. For example, the server 204 may be acloud server configured to receive component information from multipledevices including the UPS 202 pertaining to relay components. In anotherexample, the graph 1100 may be generated based on information receivedfrom a single device, such as the UPS 202.

The graph 1100 may indicate a range of temperature values of at leastone component for various past periods of time. More particularly, thegraph 1100 includes an x-axis 1102 indicating time partitions (forexample, each month of a year-long period), a y-axis 1104 indicating atemperature measured in degrees Celsius, a first trace 1106 indicating aminimum temperature of the at least one component and including a firstdata point 1108, and a second trace 1110 indicating a maximumtemperature of the at least one component and including a second datapoint 1112. For example, the at least one component may be a singlerelay, multiple relays within a device, multiple relays across multipledevices, and so forth.

The graph 1100 may provide historical temperature extrema informationsuch that a user may have additional operating condition informationpertinent to the at least one component. In some examples, additionaloperating condition information may be beneficial in understanding ordiagnosing device operation. For example, where a component failure isparticularly high in April 2018, the graph 1100 may provide advantageousinformation to determine a cause of the component failure. Moreparticularly, the first data point 1108 and the second data point 1110indicate that a temperature of the at least one component ranged betweenapproximately 21 degrees Celsius and 12 degrees Celsius during April2018, which are amongst the highest temperatures indicated by the firsttrace 1106 and the second trace 1110. Accordingly, it may be determinedthat higher component failure rates are accompanied by, and potentiallycaused by, higher temperature ranges.

Although the graph 1100 provides one example of operation information(that is, a minimum and maximum temperature), any other form of missionprofile information may be provided as prognostic information. Forexample, historical mission profile information may be providedindicating an average temperature, ranges of current conducted by the atleast one component, ranges of voltage across the at least onecomponent, ranges of power consumed by the at least one component, atotal power consumed by the at least one component during eachrespective period of time, and so forth. Accordingly, in variousexamples, various types of operation information may be used as a basisof historical prognostic information.

As discussed above, the server 204 may generate the graph 1100. Theserver 204 may generate the graph 1100 based on component informationreceived from a group of devices, including the UPS 202, over a periodof time. The devices included in the group of devices may beconfigurable, such as by being user-configurable. For example, a usermay configure or control the server 204 to provide component lifetimeprognostic information based on a group of devices including the UPS 202and any other devices in a data center in which the UPS 202 isimplemented for which component information is available. In otherexamples, the server 204 may dynamically determine an optimal group ofdevices from which to generate the graph 1100 to provide a user with anoptimal amount of information. In still another example, the server 204may generate the graph 1100 based on component information received froma single device, such as the UPS 202. For example, the server 204 maygenerate the graph 1100 based on component information for every relayin the UPS 202.

Furthermore, the period of time over which component information isanalyzed may be controlled or configurable. For example, a user mayconfigure or control the server 204 to generate the graph 1100 based oncomponent information received over the past day, week, year, or anyother time period. In other examples, the server 204 may dynamicallydetermine an optimal period of time to provide a user with an optimalamount of information.

FIG. 12 illustrates a graph 1200 of component lifetime prognosticinformation according to a fifth example. The graph 1200 may begenerated by a server, such as the server 204, based on informationreceived from multiple devices, including the UPS 202. The server mayreceive component information from each of the multiple devices over aperiod of time and generate the graph 1200 based on all or a subset ofthe received component information. For example, the server 204 may be acloud server configured to receive component information from multipledevices including the UPS 202 pertaining to relay components. In variousexamples, the graph 1200 may be generated based on component informationreceived from a single device, such as the UPS 202.

The graph 1200 includes an x-axis 1202 indicating enumerated componentmanufacturers, a y-axis 1204 indicating a remaining lifetime for atleast one component manufactured by a corresponding one of theenumerated component manufacturers, and groups of data bars 1206including a first group of data bars 1208 corresponding to a firstmanufacturer. Each of the groups of data bars 1206 includes a first barindicating an expected total lifetime of at least one componentmanufactured by a respective manufacturer, and a second bar indicating aremaining lifetime of the at least one component. While alternatemetrics of component lifetime may be implemented, the graph 1200illustrates an example in which the at least one component includes arelay, and a lifetime thereof is indicated in relay cycles. For example,the first group of data bars 1208 includes a first bar 1210 indicatingan expected total lifetime of at least one relay manufactured by thefirst manufacturer measured in cycles of the at least one relay, and asecond bar 1212 indicating a remaining lifetime of the at least onerelay measured in cycles of the at least one relay.

More particularly, the first bar 1210 indicates that the at least onerelay manufactured by the first manufacturer has an expected totallifetime of approximately 45,000 cycles. The second bar 1212 indicatesthat the at least one relay has a remaining lifetime of approximately40,000 cycles. Other groups of data bars within the groups of data bars1206 similarly indicate component lifetime information for othermanufacturers. Accordingly, the graph 1200 may be advantageous in, forexample, comparing component lifetime information between variouscomponents manufactured by various manufacturers.

In other examples, the server (for example, the server 204) may generategraphs similar to the graph 1200 based on component information receivedfrom any number of devices and pertaining to any type of component, suchas relays, capacitors, energy storage devices, and so forth. Althoughthe y-axis 1204 may indicate lifetime as a number of relay cycles, inother examples, the y-axis 1204 may indicate any appropriate lifetimemetric, such as a number of days, weeks, months, years, and so forth, ofa remaining lifetime.

As discussed above, the server 204 may generate the graph 1200 based oncomponent information received from a group of devices, including theUPS 202, over a period of time. The devices included in the group ofdevices may be configurable, such as by being user-configurable. Forexample, a user may configure or control the server 204 to providecomponent lifetime prognostic information based on a group of devicesincluding the UPS 202 and any other devices in a data center in whichthe UPS 202 is implemented for which component information is available.In other examples, the server 204 may dynamically determine an optimalgroup of devices from which to generate the graph 1200 to provide a userwith an optimal amount of information. In still another example, theserver 204 may generate the graph 1200 based on component informationreceived from a single device, such as the UPS 202. For example, theserver 204 may generate the graph 1200 based on component informationfor every relay in the UPS 202.

Furthermore, the period of time over which component information isanalyzed may be controlled or configurable. For example, a user mayconfigure or control the server 204 to generate the graph 1200 based oncomponent information received over the past day, week, year, or anyother time period. In other examples, the server 204 may dynamicallydetermine an optimal period of time to provide a user with an optimalamount of information. In still other examples, the server 204 maygenerate the graph 1200 based on components initially implemented withina substantially similar period of time (for example, within the sameday, week, month, and so forth) such that the manufacturers' components'performances may be compared more easily. That is, information providedby the graph 1200 may be more beneficial where the graph 1200 pertainsto components that have all been in operation for a substantially equalamount of time, whether in the same or a different device (for example,the UPS 202).

FIG. 13 illustrates a graph 1300 of component lifetime prognosticinformation according to a sixth example. The graph 1300 may begenerated by a server, such as the server 204, based on informationreceived from multiple devices, including the UPS 202. The server mayreceive component information from each of the multiple devices over aperiod of time and generate the graph 1300 based on all or a subset ofthe received component information. For example, the server 204 may be acloud server configured to receive component information from multipledevices including the UPS 202 pertaining to relay components. In variousexamples, the graph 1300 may be generated based on component informationreceived from a single device, such as the UPS 202.

The graph 1300 includes an x-axis 1302 indicating time partitions (forexample, each month of a year-long period), a y-axis 1304 indicating aremaining lifetime for at least one component, and traces 1306 eachindicating a remaining lifetime of a respective component, the traces1306 including a first trace 1308 corresponding to a first component.While alternate metrics of component lifetime may be implemented, thegraph 1300 illustrates an example in which the at least one componentincludes a relay, and a lifetime thereof is indicated in relay cycles.That is, the y-axis 1304 indicates a remaining lifetime in terms of anumber of remaining relay cycles. For example, the first trace 1308traces a remaining lifetime of a relay from approximately 10,000remaining cycles in January 2018 to approximately 5,000 remaining cyclesin December 2018.

In other examples, the server (for example, the server 204) may generategraphs similar to the graph 1300 based on component information receivedfrom any number of devices and pertaining to any type of component, suchas relays, capacitors, energy storage devices, and so forth. Althoughthe y-axis 1304 may indicate lifetime as a number of relay cycles insome examples, in other examples, the y-axis 1304 may indicate anyappropriate lifetime metric, such as a number of days, weeks, months,years, and so forth, of a remaining lifetime.

As discussed above, the server 204 may generate the graph 1300 based oncomponent information received from a group of devices, including theUPS 202, over a period of time. The devices included in the group ofdevices may be configurable, such as by being user-configurable. Forexample, a user may configure or control the server 204 to providecomponent lifetime prognostic information based on a group of devicesincluding the UPS 202 and any other devices in a data center in whichthe UPS 202 is implemented for which component information is available.In other examples, the server 204 may dynamically determine an optimalgroup of devices from which to generate the graph 1300 to provide a userwith an optimal amount of information. In still another example, theserver 204 may generate the graph 1300 based on component informationreceived from a single device, such as the UPS 202. For example, theserver 204 may generate the graph 1300 based on component informationfor every relay in the UPS 202.

Furthermore, the period of time over which component information isanalyzed may be controlled or configurable. For example, a user mayconfigure or control the server 204 to generate the graph 1300 based oncomponent information received over the past day, week, year, or anyother time period. In other examples, the server 204 may dynamicallydetermine an optimal period of time to provide a user with an optimalamount of information. In still other examples, the server 204 maygenerate the graph 1300 based on components initially implemented withina substantially similar period of time (for example, within the sameday, week, month, and so forth) such that the components' aging patternsmay be compared more easily. That is, information provided by the graph1300 may be more beneficial where the graph 1300 pertains to componentsthat have all been in operation for a substantially equal amount oftime, whether in the same or a different device (for example, the UPS202).

FIG. 14 illustrates a graph 1400 of component lifetime prognosticinformation according to a seventh example. The graph 1400 may begenerated by a server, such as the server 204, based on informationreceived from multiple devices, including the UPS 202. The server mayreceive component information from each of the multiple devices over aperiod of time and generate the graph 1400 based on all or a subset ofthe received component information. For example, the server 204 may be acloud server configured to receive component information from multipledevices including the UPS 202 pertaining to relay components. In variousexamples, the graph 1400 may be generated based on component informationreceived from a single device, such as the UPS 202.

The graph 1400 may indicate a number of components of a certain typewhich have failed, categorized by a type of implementation of thecomponents. More particularly, the graph 1400 includes an x-axis 1402indicating a type of implementation of at least one component, a y-axis1404 indicating a number of components that have failed for acorresponding type of implementation, and bars 1406, each indicating anumber of component failures for a respective type of implementation andincluding a first bar 1408. While alternate components implemented inalternate devices may be indicated by the graph 1400, the graph 1400illustrates an example in which the at least one component includes atleast one relay implemented in at least one UPS, such as the UPS 202.That is, the x-axis 1402 indicates a type of implementation of at leastone relay in at least one UPS, and the y-axis 1404 indicates a number ofrelay failures for each type of implementation. For example, the firstbar 1408 indicates that approximately 20 relays implemented as mainsbackfeed relays in at least one UPS have failed.

In other examples, the server (for example, the server 204) may generategraphs similar to the graph 1400 based on component information receivedfrom any type and/or number of devices and pertaining to any type ofcomponent, such as relays, capacitors, energy storage devices, and soforth. Although the x-axis 1402 indicates certain types of componentimplementations, in other examples, the graph 1400 may indicate othertypes of component implementations, where the component may include anytype of component implemented in any type of device.

As discussed above, the server 204 may generate the graph 1400 based oncomponent information received from a group of devices, including theUPS 202, over a period of time. The devices included in the group ofdevices may be configurable, such as by being user-configurable. Forexample, a user may configure or control the server 204 to providecomponent lifetime prognostic information based on a group of devicesincluding the UPS 202 and any other devices in a data center in whichthe UPS 202 is implemented for which component information is available.In other examples, the server 204 may dynamically determine an optimalgroup of devices from which to generate the graph 1400 to provide a userwith an optimal amount of information. In still another example, theserver 204 may generate the graph 1400 based on component informationreceived from a single device, such as the UPS 202. For example, theserver 204 may generate the graph 1400 based on component informationfor every relay in the UPS 202.

Furthermore, the period of time over which component information isanalyzed may be controlled or configurable. For example, a user mayconfigure or control the server 204 to generate the graph 1400 based oncomponent information received over the past day, week, year, or anyother time period. In other examples, the server 204 may dynamicallydetermine an optimal period of time to provide a user with an optimalamount of information. In still other examples, the server 204 maygenerate the graph 1400 based on components initially implemented withina substantially similar period of time (for example, within the sameday, week, month, and so forth) such that the components' failure ratesmay be compared more easily. That is, information provided by the graph1400 may be more beneficial where the graph 1400 pertains to componentsthat have all been in operation for a substantially equal amount oftime, whether in the same or a different device (for example, the UPS202), to determine which types of implementations yield the highestcomponent failure rates.

FIG. 15 illustrates a graph 1500 of component lifetime prognosticinformation according to an eighth example. The graph 1500 may begenerated by a server, such as the server 204, based on informationreceived from multiple devices, including the UPS 202. The server mayreceive component information from each of the multiple devices over aperiod of time and generate the graph 1500 based on all or a subset ofthe received component information. For example, the server 204 may be acloud server configured to receive component information from multipledevices including the UPS 202 pertaining to relay components. In variousexamples, the graph 1500 may be generated based on component informationreceived from a single device, such as the UPS 202.

The graph 1500 includes an x-axis 1502 indicating enumerated components,a y-axis 1504 indicating a lifetime for each respective enumeratedcomponent, and groups of bars 1506 including a first group of bars 1508corresponding to a first enumerated component. Each of the groups ofdata bars 1506 includes a first bar indicating an expected totallifetime of at least one component, and a second bar indicating aremaining lifetime of the at least one component. While alternatemetrics of component lifetime may be implemented, the graph 1500illustrates an example in which the enumerated components includerelays, and a lifetime thereof is indicated in relay cycles. That is,the y-axis 1504 indicates a lifetime in terms of a number of relaycycles.

For example, the first group of bars 1508 includes a first bar 1510indicating an expected total lifetime of the first enumerated component,and a second bar 1512 indicating a remaining lifetime of the firstenumerated component. More particularly, the first bar 1510 indicatesthat the first enumerated component, which may be a first relay, has anexpected total lifetime of approximately 9,800 cycles, and the secondbar 1512 indicates that the first relay has a remaining lifetime ofapproximately 4,100 cycles.

In other examples, the server (for example, the server 204) may generategraphs similar to the graph 1500 based on component information receivedfrom any number of devices and pertaining to any type of component, suchas relays, capacitors, energy storage devices, and so forth. Althoughthe y-axis 1504 may indicate lifetime as a number of relay cycles, inother examples, the y-axis 1504 may indicate any appropriate lifetimemetric, such as a number of days, weeks, months, years, and so forth, ofa remaining lifetime.

As discussed above, the server 204 may generate the graph 1500 based oncomponent information received from a group of devices, including theUPS 202, over a period of time. The devices included in the group ofdevices may be configurable, such as by being user-configurable. Forexample, a user may configure or control the server 204 to providecomponent lifetime prognostic information based on a group of devicesincluding the UPS 202 and any other devices in a data center in whichthe UPS 202 is implemented for which component information is available.In other examples, the server 204 may dynamically determine an optimalgroup of devices from which to generate the graph 1500 to provide a userwith an optimal amount of information. In still another example, theserver 204 may generate the graph 1500 based on component informationreceived from a single device, such as the UPS 202. For example, theserver 204 may generate the graph 1500 based on component informationfor every relay in the UPS 202.

Furthermore, the period of time over which component information isanalyzed may be controlled or configurable. For example, a user mayconfigure or control the server 204 to generate the graph 1500 based oncomponent information received over the past day, week, year, or anyother time period. In other examples, the server 204 may dynamicallydetermine an optimal period of time to provide a user with an optimalamount of information. In still other examples, the server 204 maygenerate the graph 1500 based on components initially implemented withina substantially similar period of time (for example, within the sameday, week, month, and so forth) such that the components' aging patternsmay be compared more easily. That is, information provided by the graph1500 may be more beneficial where the graph 1500 pertains to componentsthat have all been in operation for a substantially equal amount oftime, whether in the same or a different device (for example, the UPS202).

Accordingly, prognostic information may be provided to one or more usersor operators by one or more servers, such as the server 204. In variousexamples, users may interact with the prognostic information to filteror expand on the prognostic information. For example, in variousexamples discussed above, prognostic information may provide a number ofcomponents meeting various criteria. In FIG. 8, for example, the databar 808 indicates a number of relays, of a group of relays, havingbetween 90% and 100% of remaining life.

Users may interact with the graph 800 in various examples to expand onthe information indicated by the data bar 808. For example, users mayview a list of relays indicated by the data bar 808. The list of relaysmay include model information, an indication of a device in which eachrelay is implemented in, and so forth. In another example, users maygenerate additional prognostic information based on the informationindicated by the data bar 808. For example, the user may view the listof relays indicated by the data bar 808 and generate a graph, similar tothe graph 900, indicating time periods within which each of the relayswithin the list of relays will fail. Accordingly, users may interactwith each of the graphs 800-1500 (for example, via the server 204 or viathe user device 206) to expand on or filter information included in orrepresented by the graphs 800-1500.

Various controllers, such as the controller 112, may execute variousoperations discussed above. Using data stored in associated memory, thecontroller 112 also executes one or more instructions stored on one ormore non-transitory computer-readable media that may result inmanipulated data. In some examples, the controller 112 may include oneor more processors or other types of controllers. In one example, thecontroller 112 is or includes a commercially available, general-purposeprocessor. In another example, the controller 112 performs at least aportion of the operations discussed above using an application-specificintegrated circuit (ASIC) tailored to perform particular operations inaddition to, or in lieu of, a general-purpose processor. As illustratedby these examples, examples in accordance with the present invention mayperform the operations described herein using many specific combinationsof hardware and software and the invention is not limited to anyparticular combination of hardware and software components.

In various examples, the controller 112 may implement a multi-threadingprocess to execute operations discussed above. For example, while afirst thread of the controller 112 may perform operations includingdetermining a relay load type (for example, as discussed above withrespect to act 614) and determining a relay load current (for example,as discussed above with respect to act 616), a second thread of thecontroller 112 may calculate one or more degradation factors (forexample, as discussed above with respect to acts 620, 626, and 628) anddetermine an effective number of relay cycles consumed (for example, asdiscussed above with respect to act 634). In other examples, any numberof threads may be implemented by the controller 112 to execute anycombination of operations, including acts discussed above with respectto the processes 300-700.

Current uninterruptible power supply systems at least typically cannotdetermine remaining relay lifetime information indicating an accuratenumber of remaining relay cycles. This is a technical problem. Anexemplary embodiment of an uninterruptible power supply may comprise asensor, a relay, and a controller that determines a manufacturer's totalestimated relay lifetime based on stored relay specifications, receivesoperational parameters of the relay (for example, current conducted),determines the cycles consumed based on the parameters, and outputs anindication of a modified number of remaining relay cycles based on thedifference between the manufacturer estimated lifetime and the number ofcycles consumed. At least this foregoing combination of featurescomprises an uninterruptible power supply that serves as a technicalsolution to the foregoing technical problem. This technical solution isnot routine and is unconventional. This technical solution is apractical application of the uninterruptible power supply design thatsolves the foregoing technical problem and constitutes an improvement inthe technical field of uninterruptible-power-supply design at least byfacilitating an estimate of remaining relay cycles more accurately thatcurrent systems.

Current uninterruptible power supplies at least typically cannotdetermine remaining relay lifetime information indicating an accuratenumber of remaining relay cycles. This is a technical problem. Anexemplary embodiment of an uninterruptible power supply may comprise asensor and a relay, determine a manufacturer's total estimated relaylifetime based on stored relay specifications, receive operationalparameters of the relay (for example, current conducted), determine theeffective cycles consumed based on the parameters, and output a modifiednumber of remaining relay cycles based on the difference between themanufacturer estimated lifetime and the effective number of cyclesconsumed. At least this foregoing combination of features comprises anuninterruptible power supply that serves as a technical solution to theforegoing technical problem. This technical solution is not routine andis unconventional in the field of uninterruptible power supply design.This technical solution is a practical application of theuninterruptible power supply design that solves the foregoing technicalproblem and constitutes an improvement in the technical field ofuninterruptible power supply design at least by facilitating an estimateof remaining relay lifetime and/or cycles more accurately that currentsystems.

Current component analysis systems at least typically cannot determinerelay lifetime prognostic information indicating the remaining lifetimeof relays. This is a technical problem. An exemplary embodiment of acomponent analysis system may comprise a computing device incommunication with uninterruptible power supplies with relays. Thecomputing device may receive manufacturer's total estimated relaylifetime, receive operational parameters of operation of relays (forexample, current conducted), determine the effective cycles consumedbased on the parameters, determine a modified number of relay cyclesremaining based on the difference between the manufacturer estimatedlifetime and the effective number of cycles consumed, and output relaylifetime prognostic information based on the modified number or relaycycles remaining. At least this foregoing combination of featurescomprises a component analysis system that serves as a technicalsolution to the foregoing technical problem. This technical solution isnot routine and is unconventional in the fields ofuninterruptible-power-supply maintenance, information technology, andemergency-power management. This technical solution is a practicalapplication of the component analysis systems that solves the foregoingtechnical problem and constitutes an improvement in the technical fieldsof uninterruptible-power-supply maintenance, information technology, andemergency-power management at least by facilitating an estimate ofremaining relay lifetime and/or cycles more accurately that currentsystems.

Having thus described several aspects of at least one embodiment, it isto be appreciated various alterations, modifications, and improvementswill readily occur to those skilled in the art. Such alterations,modifications, and improvements are intended to be part of, and withinthe spirit and scope of, this disclosure. Accordingly, the foregoingdescription and drawings are by way of example only.

What is claimed is:
 1. An uninterruptible power supply comprising: afirst input configured to receive input power; a second input configuredto receive backup power; an output configured to be coupled to at leastone load, and configured to provide output power from at least one ofthe first input or the second input to the at least one load; at leastone sensor; at least one relay; and at least one controller coupled tothe at least one sensor and to the at least one relay, the at least onecontroller being configured to: determine, based on stored relayspecifications, a total estimated remaining relay lifetime; receiveoperational information indicative of operational parameters ofoperation of the at least one relay from the at least one sensor, theoperational information including a current conducted by the at leastone relay; identify, responsive to identifying a switching event of theat least one relay, a load type of a load of the at least one relay;determine, based on the operational information, an effective number ofrelay cycles consumed by the operation of the at least one relay;determine a modified number of remaining relay cycles, the modifiednumber of remaining relay cycles being based on a difference between thetotal estimated remaining relay lifetime and the effective number ofrelay cycles consumed; and output remaining-relay-lifetime informationindicative of the modified number of remaining relay cycles.
 2. Theuninterruptible power supply of claim 1, wherein the total estimatedremaining relay lifetime is a manufacturer total estimated relaylifetime.
 3. The uninterruptible power supply of claim 2, furthercomprising a display, wherein the controller is configured to displaythe remaining-relay-lifetime information on the display.
 4. Theuninterruptible power supply of claim 2, wherein the operationalparameters include at least one of electrical parameters orenvironmental parameters.
 5. The uninterruptible power supply of claim2, further comprising a communications interface configured to becommunicatively coupled to at least one server, wherein the controlleris further configured to provide component information indicative of theat least one relay to the at least one server via the communicationsinterface.
 6. The uninterruptible power supply of claim 5, wherein thecomponent information includes at least one of theremaining-relay-lifetime information, the operational information, orthe stored relay specifications.
 7. The uninterruptible power supply ofclaim 2, wherein in determining the manufacturer total estimated relaylifetime, the controller is further configured to: retrievemanufacturer-supplied information indicative of an estimated totallifetime of the at least one relay at a test relay load current and atest relay temperature; and determine, based on themanufacturer-supplied information, an initial remaining lifetime of theat least one relay.
 8. The uninterruptible power supply of claim 7,wherein the load type includes at least one of a resistive load type, acapacitive load type, or an inductive load type, and the switching eventincludes at least one of the at least one relay switching from aconducting state to a non-conducting state or from a non-conductingstate to a conducting state.
 9. The uninterruptible power supply ofclaim 8, wherein identifying the load type includes: acquiringelectrical parameter samples including at least one of a plurality ofcurrent samples or a plurality of voltage samples of the at least onerelay; and determining the load type based on one or more of:identifying a pattern match between the electrical parameter samples anda reference pattern corresponding to a known load type; determining thatthe electrical parameter samples are stable within a threshold range ofvalues; or determining a phase difference between the plurality ofvoltage samples and the plurality of current samples.
 10. Theuninterruptible power supply of claim 8, wherein the controller isfurther configured to: receive, from the at least one sensor, at leastone current sample indicative of a current through the at least onerelay; and receive, from the at least one sensor, at least onetemperature sample indicative of a temperature of the at least onerelay.
 11. The uninterruptible power supply of claim 10, wherein thecontroller is further configured to: determine a current stress factorof the at least one relay based on a difference between the at least onecurrent sample indicative of the current through the at least one relayand the test relay load current; and determine a temperature stressfactor of the at least one relay based on a difference between the atleast one temperature sample indicative of the temperature of the atleast one relay and the test relay temperature.
 12. The uninterruptiblepower supply of claim 11, wherein the controller is further configuredto determine a degradation rate of the at least one relay based on thecurrent stress factor and the temperature stress factor.
 13. Theuninterruptible power supply of claim 12, wherein the controller isfurther configured to: determine, based on the degradation rate, aneffective number of switching cycles consumed by the switching event;and determine, based on a difference between the estimated totallifetime and the effective number of switching cycles consumed by theswitching event, the remaining lifetime of the at least one relay. 14.The uninterruptible power supply of claim 1, wherein the at least onecontroller is further configured to determine the effective number ofrelay cycles consumed by the operation of the at least one relay basedon the operational information and based on the load type.
 15. Theuninterruptible power supply of claim 1, wherein determining theeffective number of relay cycles consumed by the operation of the atleast one relay includes determining the effective number of relaycycles consumed by the switching event.
 16. A component analysis systemcomprising: at least one computing device communicatively coupled to aplurality of uninterruptible power supplies, the plurality ofuninterruptible power supplies including a plurality of relays, the atleast one computing device being configured to: receive a respectivetotal estimated remaining relay lifetime for each relay of the pluralityof relays; receive respective operational information indicative ofoperational parameters of operation of each relay of the plurality ofrelays; identify, responsive to identifying a respective switching eventof each relay of the plurality of relays, a load type of a respectiveload of each relay of the plurality of relays; determine, for each relaybased on the respective operational information, a respective effectivenumber of relay cycles consumed by operation of the respective relay;determine, for each relay, a modified number of remaining relay cyclesbased on a difference between the respective total estimated remainingrelay lifetime and the respective effective number of relay cyclesconsumed; determine, based on the modified number of remaining relaycycles for each relay of the plurality of relays, relay lifetimeprognostic information indicative of a remaining lifetime of theplurality of relays; and output the relay lifetime prognosticinformation.
 17. The component analysis system of claim 16, whereinreceiving the respective total estimated remaining relay lifetime foreach relay of the plurality of relays includes receiving a respectivemanufacturer total estimated relay lifetime for each relay of theplurality of relays.
 18. The component analysis system of claim 17,wherein the operational parameters include at least one of electricalparameters or environmental parameters.
 19. The component analysissystem of claim 17, wherein the at least one computing device is furtherconfigured to provide the modified number of remaining relay cycles fora respective relay to a respective uninterruptible power supply thatincludes the respective relay.
 20. The component analysis system ofclaim 17, wherein the relay lifetime prognostic information includes atleast one of: information indicative of a remaining lifetime of eachrelay of the plurality of relays; information indicative of an expectedfailure time of each relay of the plurality of relays; informationindicative of a load type of each relay of the plurality of relays;information indicative of a remaining lifetime of each relay of theplurality of relays based on a corresponding manufacturer; informationindicative of aging over time of each relay of the plurality of relays;or information indicative of a number of failures of failed relays basedon a corresponding type of implementation.
 21. The component analysissystem of claim 16, wherein the at least one computing device is furtherconfigured to determine the respective effective number of relay cyclesconsumed by operation of the respective relay based on the respectiveoperational information of each relay and based on the load type of eachrelay.
 22. The component analysis system of claim 16, whereindetermining the respective effective number of relay cycles consumed bythe operation of the respective relay includes determining therespective effective number of relay cycles consumed by the respectiveswitching event of each relay.
 23. A non-transitory computer-readablemedium storing thereon sequences of computer-executable instructions foroperating an uninterruptible power supply including at least one sensorand at least one relay, the sequences of computer-executableinstructions including instructions that instruct at least one processorto: determine, based on stored relay specifications, a total estimatedremaining relay lifetime; receive operational information indicative ofoperational parameters of operation of the at least one relay; identify,responsive to identifying a switching event of the at least one relay, aload type of a load of the at least one relay; determine, based on theoperational information, an effective number of relay cycles consumed bythe operation of the at least one relay; determine a modified number ofremaining relay cycles, the modified number of remaining relay cyclesbeing based on a difference between the total estimated remaining relaylifetime and the effective number of relay cycles consumed; and outputremaining-relay-lifetime information indicative of the modified numberof remaining relay cycles.
 24. The non-transitory computer-readablemedium of claim 23, wherein the total estimated remaining relay lifetimeis a manufacturer total estimated relay lifetime.
 25. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 24, wherein the operational parametersinclude at least one of electrical parameters and environmentalparameters.
 26. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 24,wherein the uninterruptible power supply further includes acommunications interface configured to be communicatively coupled to atleast one server, wherein the instructions are further configured toinstruct the at least one processor to provide component informationindicative of the at least one relay to the at least one server via thecommunications interface.
 27. The non-transitory computer-readablemedium of claim 26, wherein the component information includes at leastone of the remaining-relay-lifetime information, the operationalinformation, or the stored relay specifications.
 28. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 23, wherein the instructions arefurther configured to instruct the at least one processor to determinethe effective number of relay cycles consumed by the operation of the atleast one relay based on the operational information and based on theload type.
 29. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 23,wherein determining the effective number of relay cycles consumed by theoperation of the at least one relay includes determining the effectivenumber of relay cycles consumed by the switching event.